At Heritage, we believe that education is an important part of the estate planning process. On this blog we will be sharing some information, articles, and opinions that you may find helpful along your way.

11/03/2017

Don’t do anything with your inherited IRA, until you learn the facts of the laws and regulations.

If you are a person who has been named as the beneficiary of an IRA, then you have some decisions to make. They need to be good decisions or it could end up costing you, according to the Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog in "Practical Issues When an IRA Owner Dies."

Because IRA accounts are given to beneficiaries directly and are not part of the estate, they do not go through probate.

However, the importance of IRAs to overall inheritances can be enormous. Therefore, it is vital that their administration be carefully considered.

The biggest thing to understand is that there are tax consequences for any decisions made about what to do with the IRA. Those consequences are not the same for everyone.

They depend on the relationship between the beneficiary and the deceased. These tax consequences are big enough, that it is important to seek professional tax advice and to do so quickly.

There are penalties, if decisions are not made within certain time limits.

If you are not certain who to talk to about what to do with an inherited IRA, then talk to an attorney knowledgeable on the subject. Our attorneys at Heritage Elder Law and Estate Planning are available to help. Contact us at www.HeritageElderLaw.com or (724) 841-0004.

11/02/2017

The Baby Boomer generation is steadily moving toward retirement, seniors are continuing to live longer and the younger generations are going to need to support the country in the next few decades. However, most politicians are not doing anything about those looming issues, according to Politico in "Aging: 5 icebergs Washington is ignoring."

Among the issues being ignored are:

The country is likely to have a shortage of people of working age. This will make it difficult for businesses to find employees. It could also be damaging to the overall economy and make it difficult to raise enough revenue for government services.

The U.S. does not have an adequate long-term care system in place to meet expected needs. There is a severe lack of home health care aides and funding to pay for nursing homes.

Social Security, state pensions and many private pension plans all face looming shortages. They will not be able to make promised payments, unless something is done. Most people do not have enough saved for retirement to make up for any lost or reduced pension payments.

Older people are more expensive to cover in the health care system. An even greater percentage of GDP will be needed to pay for seniors' care in the future.

Age discrimination remains a big issue for many. When there are more seniors, there will be even more discrimination.

If you want to be certain you are adequately planning for your future, contact Heritage Elder Law and attend a free informational workshop. Register online at www.HeritageElderLaw.com or call (724) 841-0004.

10/24/2017

It is thought that people can save more through their 401(k) during their working years than with traditional pension plans. However, the truth is that they aren’t always saving enough.

A crisis is arising that there isn’t enough saved. Therefore, the Washington Post asked one of the leaders of the movement from pensions to 401(k)s, Ted Benna, and other experts for some thoughts on the problem in "Why it's so hard for Americans to save for retirement."

Their observations include:

401(k) plans have become too complicated for people to understand. They used to be explainable in a few minutes. There are now so many options and fees that people get confused.

People procrastinate thinking that they will always have time to save later.

People who do not get a 401(k) through an employer, often do not take advantage of their option to get individual retirement accounts.

The people who most need to save early, who are those with the least amount of income, are not the ones who are most incentivized by tax policy to use retirement accounts.

At Heritage Elder Law, we work with trusted financial planners who can help you get started on the right path for retirement, or help you be certain you are saving enough. If you need some help finding a financial planner who is the right fit for you, let us help. Call Heritage today at (724) 841-0004.

Money is put into qualified retirement accounts on a pre-tax basis. No income tax needs to be paid on the money at that time.

The government is counting on the money in the retirement accounts being withdrawn someday, and then taxing it. The government actually hopes to make more money overall through this arrangement.

Not understanding the government's reasoning, many people do not know that when they reach the age of 70 and a half they are required to take annual minimum disbursements out of their accounts. The government wants its taxes paid.

If the required minimum amount is not taken out, then the IRS will tax the amount that should have been taken out at a steep rate of 50%. The government wants the hoped for tax money.

The good news is that the rate is so high not necessarily to be unduly punitive, but as a way to make sure the taxpayer does not make the same mistake twice.

That means the IRS will often waive the penalty.

If you have a question regarding Elder Law, check out our website at www.HeritageElderLaw.com or call (724) 841-0004.

09/25/2017

Summer vacation season has come and gone. I was recently speaking to a friend who had just planned and executed his family’s summer beach vacation. He was explaining how he shopped for hours online for the just the right house at just the right beach. He had considered other options such as the mountains or a cruise. He had called to set up events, including a day of fishing. He knew what restaurants he wanted to visit. Every detail of the week was accounted for.

I asked him how much time he had invested in planning the trip and he thought he probably had spent about 20 hours preparing. Then I asked him what would have happened if he would have been in a car accident on the way there. What if he had died or become disabled? What would have happened to his wife and children? He had no answer.

Clearly, planning for a vacation is much more exciting than doing estate planning. However, it always amazes me how much time people spend planning for a one week trip, yet they haven’t given ten minutes of thought to their estate plan.

If you stop think about it, you’ve spent a lifetime working hard to accumulate the assets you have. Perhaps you should spend a little time becoming educated on what is going to happen to those assets. What would happen if you would need the nursing home? How long would you be able to afford the approximately $100,000 annual bill? Who would help you manage your affairs if you couldn’t do it yourself? What are the tax implications of passing assets to the next generation? Can you protect your kids’ inheritance from their potential divorces?

With summer vacation season behind us, NOW is the time to make your estate planning a priority. Just like with planning a vacation, the first step is to become educated about your options. You need to understand the pros and cons of each estate planning choice. For more information about your estate planning concerns and options, please consider attending one of our FREE workshops. To view our remaining 2017 workshop schedule, visit www.HeritageElderLaw.com and click on the Workshops tab. You can register online, or call (724) 841-0004. Now is the right time to focus on your estate plan! Call Today!

09/21/2017

Elderly people who decide it is time to downsize, often find that their younger relatives do not want or cannot take very much. This is because their own homes are already filled or they just have different tastes than their elders, according to The New York Times in "Aging Parents with Lots of Stuff, and Children Who Don't Want It."

One solution to this problem is to contact an estate sale company to auction off unwanted items.

Nevertheless, some people on fixed incomes might find that option unaffordable, since many estate sale agents charge high hourly fees and fixed fees from the sale in the thousands of dollars range.

Another potential solution is to donate unwanted possessions to charity.

More and more people are using this option.

It can even come with the benefit of a tax deduction for those elderly people who itemize their deductions.

It is your possessions, including personal property, real estate, business interests, financial accounts or anything else that you can physically possess.

When you do estate planning, you plan for how all of those possessions will be handled after you pass away.

Your legacy, on the other hand, is how you will be remembered after you pass away.

That can be anything from how your immediate family thinks of you, to future university students who only know you from seeing your name on a building.

What this means is that when you do legacy planning, you plan your estate in a way that adds positive value to your legacy.

Our attorneys at Heritage Elder Law will help you to plan your estate so that your desires are reflected in your plan. Call today to schedule for a free workshop at (724) 841-0004, or register online at www.HeritageElderLaw.com. Click on the Workshops tab.

If you purchase online estate planning documents and fill them out based on brief instructions, you could hurt your family.

You may never know what mistakes you made.

Your family might never find out about any mistakes until after you pass away. However, the mistakes can be very costly.

Before attempting to create your own will by purchasing a form, ask yourself how confident you are about not making a mistake. At Heritage Elder Law and Estate Planning, the only type of law we practice is Elder Law and Estate Planning. We know the ins and outs of the laws concerning this area. Don't go it alone! Our knowledge and expertise could save your family a lot! Join us for a FREE Estate Planning Workshop to learn how we can help! Register at www.HeritageElderLaw.com, click on the Workshops tab, or call (724) 841-0004.